A004: Promoting Interventions for Physical Activity in Healthy Older Adults: Meta-Analysis

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OBJECTIVE: A meta-analysis was conducted to quantitatively evaluate the promotion effects of various types of interventions on physical activity in healthy older adults, with the aim of providing a scientific basis for the development of physical activity intervention programs. METHODS: As of April 2023, randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of physical activity interventions for healthy older adults in CNKI, Web of Science, Embase, Cochrane, EBSCO SPORT Discus, and Physiotherapy Evidence Database databases were searched and screened. The obtained literature was imported into EndNoteX9.1 software, and the titles and abstracts of the literature were initially screened according to the inclusion and exclusion criteria, and then the full texts of the initially included literature were collected and screened. Finally, the Cochrane 5.1.0 risk of bias assessment tool was used for quality assessment, and Review Manager software was used for combining effect sizes, testing for heterogeneity, subgroup analyses, and the generation of funnel plots. RESULTS: 11 RCTs of good methodological quality were included in the 27,785 texts, with samples from eight countries, totaling 1,613 participants. The study found that post-intervention step counts (SMD = 0.37; 95% CI: 0.20 - 0.54; I2 =0%; p < 0.0001) and MVPA (SMD = 0.31; 95% CI: 0.15 - 0.48; I2 =40%; p = 0.0002), MPA (SMD = 0.32; 95% CI: -0.54 - 1.18; I2 =89%; p=0.47), and TPA (SMD = 0.23; 95% CI: -0.32 - 0.78; I2 =73%; p=0.42) significantly improved. No significant effects were observed on secondary outcomes, including bodyweight, waist circumference, BMI, fat mass, lean body mass, quality of life, and grip strength. Additionally, separate subgroup analyses were performed for steps and MVPA, and although the differences between groups did not reach significance, a consistent trend was observed. This suggests that the effect of the intervention is related to whether the intervention is based on the theory, strategy, tools, BCT combination used, and the duration of the intervention. CONCLUSION: The intervention improved physical activity in healthy older adults. Specifically, programs developed based on theory, with a period of up to 3 months, using combined cognitive-behavioral strategies, technological aids, and a combination of more than 3 BCTs were more effective in the practical application of promoting physical activity in healthy older adults.